1. Eating, Drinking
and Doing
Good Business
in China
Presentation to:
Hong Kong-Canada
Business Association /
Association Commerciale
Hong Kong-Canada
2011-01-27
DRAGONBRIDGE CORPORATION
www.dragonbridgecorp.com
dragonbridgecorp@gmail.com
T +1-514-933-8680
The China Specialists

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About Us
 Our Team
• Professional trainers and China specialists. Only Chinese nationals in China
work on mandates relating to China business and culture.
 Our Services
1. China Business: China Business Facilitation, China Business Training,
China Cultural Consultation, China Business Missions and Cultural Tours.
2. Interpersonal Communications: Non-Verbal/Body Language Training,
Presentation Skills, Business Etiquette and Protocol, Leadership.
3. Cross Cultural: Cross Cultural Skills for Business, Diversity Training,
Expat Prep, Managing Multicultural Teams, Japanese Business Culture
Training.

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Some of our Clients - 同我们合作的一些公司
 IATA (International Air Transport Association)
(国际空中运输协会)
 Nortel Networks(北电网络)
 Ville de Montréal (蒙特利尔市政府)
 BMMTEC (Beijing Modern Management Technology
Exchange Center)
(北京现代管理技术交易中心)
 Banexi Capital Partenaires (BNP Paribas)
(法国巴黎银行)
 Développement PME Chaudière-Appalaches
 SMMGIM (GIMXPORT)
 SERDEX
 RECOMEX
 CCIEIM (Chambre de commerce et industrie de l’est
de l’île de Montréal)
 Shanghai Small Sized Enterprise Trade Development
Service Center
(上海中小企业贸易发展服务中心)
 BMO Capital Markets Group
 Bell Canada(加拿大贝尔公司)
 Bell Nexxia
 Jyco Sealing Technologies
 Certen (Amdocs)
 BBC Northern Ireland(北爱尔兰)
 Yorkshire Water, UK(英国)
 McClausland Hotel, Northern Ireland
 (北爱尔兰)
 Portugal Telecom(葡萄牙电信)
 JHKCBA
 BTG (Beijing Tourism Group)
 Business Development Bank of Canada
(加拿大商业发展银行)
 Ernst & Young Investment Advisors (安永投资顾问)
 Groupe Conseil CFC
 3-SOFT

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Great questions to be answered this morning
• Where do you sit at a round table?
• What are the origins of the fortune cookie?
• In which army was General Tao?
• How should one behave while eating and drinking in China?

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Food is a focal point
 Common Chinese Greeting: “Have you eaten already?”
 “Food is heaven”
 Meals (and drinking) help to get to know people
 People one knows well are referred to as “cooked” and strangers or
mere acquaintances are “raw”

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What is Chinese cuisine?
 Chinese cuisine as general a label as European cuisine
 South is sweet, North is salty, East is sour, West is spicy
(« le sud est sucré, le nord est salé, l’est est aigre et l’ouest est épicé »).
 Wheat in the North, rice in the South
 Northern styles: More oily, vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, wheat noodles,
dumplings, steamed bread
 Southern Styles:
– Sichuan and Hunan use chili peppers (la), Sichuan peppers (ma)
– Jiangsu and Zhejiang emphasis on freshness, tenderness
– Guangzhou food somewhat sweet with great variety

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Chinese Breakfast
 In Guangzhou, could be dim sum
 Congee (zhou) also a breakfast
staple with numerous toppings
(scallions, preserved egg, coriander)
 Fried dough/crullers (you tiao)
 In Beijing, jianbing (crispy crepe with
fried egg, green onion, cilantro,
hoisin sauce, etc..)

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Making jianbing in Beijing

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You tiao (fried dough crullers) from street vendor

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Street Food

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More exotic street food

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Chinese Dining - informal

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Banquet table setting

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Chopsticks or “Kuaizi”
• What if you can’t use them? Fingers? Knife and
fork?
• Do Not:
• Play with or point with them or tap them against a glass or bowl
• Stick them upright in your rice bowl
• Spear food with them
• Lick the ends
• Drop them
• Use them to move bowls or plates
• Rest them so they point toward others at the table

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Appropriate Dining Behavior
 Sit according to rank
 Wait for the host to start eating or drinking
 Serve yourself from the nearest food in the dish
 Place food on another’s plate as a courteous gesture
 Host orders a lot of food but apologizes for there being too little
 Guests compliment abundance and quality of food
 Eat food from one dish at a time
 Spit out bones on your plate
 Leave some food on your plate to confirm abundance
 Pay the whole tab if you are the host
 Cover your mouth while using a toothpick

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Inappropriate Dining Behavior
 Random seating
 Searching in the dish for food you like
 Expressing disgust about any food, refusing to try even a little of it
 Loading your plate with food from many dishes at the same time
 Removing bones from your mouth with fingers
 Suggesting that you “pay your share”
 Asking for rice, soya sauce, salt and pepper
 Flipping over a fish when one side has been eaten
 Blowing your nose at the table

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Drinking Customs

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Toasting with Friends

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Unacceptable Drinking Behavior
 Start to drink and then refuse to continue
 Drink before the host
 Forget to respond to a toast made to you or your group
 Stay seated when someone comes around to toast you
 Express distaste for the liquor
 Fill your own glass

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When it’s over
 Banquets usually end early (8 or 9 pm)
 Arrival of rice or fruit on table signals the end
 Chinese people do not linger around the dining table to chat
 Everyone gets up, says thank you and good bye
 Host will accompany guests out, to door or even to car
 If the evening continues, some members of the group may go to KTV
 Don’t be too effusive in your thanks, but remember to return the
invitation later

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Xiè Xie!